News

The FTSE 100 rose 0.5% to 5,757.22 in early trading, despite negative company announcements across various sectors.

Tesco Bank has signed a five year agreement with Vertex, a global provider of customer management outsourcing, to support its planned entry into the mortgage market in early summer 2011.

The Chinese economy expanded by 9.6% in the third quarter, a slight drop from 10% in the previous period.

Government borrowing hit a record high in September, with the biggest deficit for the month since records began in 1993.

Henderson recorded a £300m net inflow into its retail fund range in Q3, including £100m into its UK domiciled products.

The FSA has expressed concern IFAs are drastically underestimating the risks of making client investments on platforms, with some firms accused of shoe-horning clients into pre-packaged solutions.

IFA consolidator Perspective Financial Group is encouraging its firms to pursue chartered status as it believes the mark will represent the next step toward professionalism after RDR.

The CII has batted away suggestions it sought to profit from the RDR, saying measures it has taken to help advisers meet its qualification requirements have only marginally upped revenues.

IFAs should stop trying to be fund managers because they lack both the time and expertise, according to Lighthouse Group chairman David Hickey.

The raising of the state pension age (SPA) to 66 by 2020 will be harder for women than men, experts say.